Blogs
Greater NW Pride: Queer Pride Camp Reflections
8/21/2019
Queer Pride Camp Reflections On Sunday afternoon, Aug., 18, 2019, after a weekend together with each other, I drove a van full of queer young adult campers to a restaurant in Redlands, just down the “hill” from Camp Sky Meadows in the San Bernardino Mountains, where we were all part of Queer Pride Camp, a first camp of its kind in the United Methodist Church’s Western Jurisdiction. Twenty-six all-queer campers and eleven staff—all the camp leadership staff were queer—had a fabulous time ...
Greater NW Pride: What "Pose" Teaches Us About Being Church
8/14/2019
What Pose Teaches Us About Being Church On Tuesday, Aug., 13, 2019, I read a Facebook entry by the Rev. Anna Blaedel—an openly queer United Methodist minister—who was facing an investigation and possible trial by the Iowa Annual Conference into her ordination because homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching, and she is a “self-avowed and practicing homosexual” (Book of Discipline, Paragraph 2702.1[b]). In all honesty, as an openly gay Presbyterian pastor, I even cringe as I ...
Greater NW Pride: Camp Queer Pride 2019
8/6/2019
Camp Queer Pride, 2019! From Friday, Aug. 16 to Sunday, Aug. 18, 2019, the Western Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church is holding its first LGBTQ+ camp for young people, from ages 18-25-years-old who live in the Western Jurisdiction, as well as those LGBTQ+ who are outside of this Jurisdiction and need to come to a safe place for a few days. We are gathering at Camp Sky Meadows in the San Bernardino Mountains area. This is the first camp or retreat of its kind in the United ...
To Be Family
7/31/2019
To Be Family The definition of family, according to Merriam-Webster: the basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children. Also, any of various social units differing from but regarded as equivalent to the traditional family. I was struck by the need to clarify what is a family after listening and reading about a story regarding a gay couple who have been denied a US visa for their baby who was born through a British surrogate. The story caught my eye...
“Single-User, Gender-Neutral, Accessible, Lockable Rest Rooms” in UMC Churches by 2020
7/25/2019
“Single-User, Gender-Neutral, Accessible, Lockable Rest Rooms” in UMC Churches by 2020 On Tue., July 23, 2019, in my former home-state of North Carolina, The State Supreme Court ruled that the state of NC cannot use House Bill 142 (which replaced the hated HB 2) “to prevent transgender individuals from using public restrooms and other facilities in state government buildings that match their gender under an agreement approved today by a federal court.” For years, NC was well-known for “...